


A Burning Heart

by LadyoftheWoods



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Burns, Frozen AU, Hurt/Comfort, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, kind of?, minor injury/blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23417782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheWoods/pseuds/LadyoftheWoods
Summary: Kind of a reverse Frozen AU. Patton is Hans, Roman is Anna, Remus is Elsa, Virgil is kinda kristoff? Instead of ice powers, Remus has fire/heat powers that got out of hand.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	A Burning Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in drafts for a while. I'm not sure if i'm entirely happy with it and I probably won't do more with it in the near future, if at all, but it's grown on me. Something to get ya through till next Monday, I suppose!

“Oh Roman, if only there was someone who loved you.” His breath caught in his throat as he felt the warmth pull away, as he fell forwards, hand splayed on the floor to keep him upright. 

“What… what do you mean?” He looked up, eyes wide, disbelief and fear flooding through him as he met those eyes above him. They had been so warm, once, a bright, brilliant blue, but now they’d gone cold, a small smirk tugging at his lips. He scoffed. 

“Please, you think I actually cared? No, no, little prince. I just saw what you needed and used it to use you. Didn’t think it would be this easy. I figured I’d play along, some mysterious ‘accident’ would befall your poor older brother, and then I’d get you out of the way. But he just snapped, didn’t he?” He laughed, a hard sound, and Roman flinched, shaking his head. 

“no, no, no, Patton, what did you do? What have you done?” His voice was so low, he could barely hear it as he choked on his fear. Cold hands dug into his chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. 

“I told my soldiers to make it look like an accident. Like poor King Remus had truly lost his mind, lashed out, there was no other way. He’s a danger and a menace. He killed his own brother, after all.” 

“I’m not dead.” That wicked smile grew larger, face twisting into something unrecognizable. 

“oh, not yet.” He yelped as he was thrust roughly back, head cracking against the stone floor as he blinked dizzily. “But you will be.” He pushed himself up, just in time to see the flash of blue vanish, the door slamming shut and locking. 

“No! nononono…” He heaved out, crawling to the door, weakly slamming his fists against it. They barely made a sound. He pounded once more, a sob clawing its way out of his throat as his head thumped against the door. 

He could feel the heat rushing through him, he could feel the sweat rolling down his forehead. It burned him up from the inside out, this fire burning into his veins, eating into his heart, scorching his lungs and clawing its way ever deeper. His every cell was pain, his every breath was agony, and he wanted nothing more than to stay there until he crumbled to dust. 

But, but, but… Remus. Remus was out there. He was alone. He was alone and he needed help, he needed to find his brother before Patton could, before Patton could do something. 

He took a shuddering breath, pushing himself to his feet, trying to ignore how he swayed, how his head spun, how from that simple action his heart was pulsing double time, how his muscles screamed in protest, and he bit back a whimper, steeling himself. He wasn’t going to fail Remus. Not again. Not like this. 

The door was locked. But there was a window. And… and the fireplace. Loose bricks. Remus and himself used to hide things, trinkets, secret messages for each other, behind loose bricks in the fireplaces. 

The fire was roaring right now, Patton’s attempt to speed up the curse, and gods, was it working. The closer he got, the harder he shook, his vision going blurry. Claws tore into his chest, ripped at his lungs. He knew where it was without having to look, he just needed to do it.

For Remus, for Remus, for Remus. 

He closed his eyes and thrust his hand into the flames, unable to contain the scream that wrenched its way out of his throat, as he smelled his own flesh burn, as white hot agony nearly sent him stumbling back, as every nerve screamed at him to stop, stop, stop. 

He didn’t remember getting outside. Suddenly he was on the ground outside the window, shattered glass surrounding him. He had cuts on his arms, glass imbedded in his shoes, and he nearly wished for that fugue state that had gotten him this far to return because the sand storm was raging harder than ever, and it scraped his skin raw in instants, it grated against his burnt arm, which he quickly wrapped in his sash, nearly passing out at the thought of removing it later. 

For Remus, Remus, Remus. 

“REMUS!” He shouted into the storm, the wind whipping away his words, spitting against the sand that coated his dry tongue. He squinted, he could barely see, and his vision was already doubled, the heat outside more stifling than that from indoors. He pressed onwards, trying to go in a straight line, trying to find any sign of anyone. 

“ROMAN!” He heard the shout from far away through the sands, but it wasn’t Remus. It was Virgil. “Roman!” Another, quieter call, Logan. They must have figured out something wasn’t right, of course Virgil had, always so suspicious of everyone, Logan so clear headed, of course they saw the situation without the stupid rose tinted glasses Roman had worn. But he couldn’t focus on them right now. He turned away. 

He heard the noise of a fight coming through the storm. He turned towards the noise, blocking out Virgil’s desperate cries. He could almost see the familiar purple, but he couldn’t let himself care. He turned and ran deeper into the storm.

“You think you can win? You’re just a monster.” Remus flinched, but the fire he held in his hands didn’t extinguish, neither did the flames in his eyes. 

“Shut up. You don’t know anything.” Remus hissed, hating how the figure smirked, letting out a harsh laugh. 

“Me? I don’t know anything? At least I didn’t murder my own brother!” The fire vanished. He felt numb, felt the world narrow, felt himself fall to his knees. No, no, it couldn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t! 

Roman laughing, head thrown back, tears in his eyes at something Remus had said, that pure, unadulterated joy on his face. 

Roman getting mad, storming off to his room and slamming his door, only opening it hours later after Remus had been sitting outside, humming their favorite songs.

Roman begging him to please come out, whatever it was they could talk about it, he just needed him to talk to him, please. He hadn’t opened the door. 

Roman, alone, burning up, dying before he could fix this mess, before he could say sorry, before he could hold his baby brother in his arms and fix him. 

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this if Roman was gone. He couldn’t. He’d killed Roman. He’d killed him. He deserved to die, he wanted to die, the guilt and misery and anguish burrowed into his soul. He was aware of tears dripping down his cheeks, he was aware the storm had stopped, he was aware of himself curled on the ground, he was aware of numbness. He was aware of footsteps coming closer, but he barely had the strength to look up, and definitely not the desire. 

“Goodbye, King Remus.” He bowed his head at the snarling voice, exhaustion sweeping over him, waiting for the strike. Waiting for the end to this miserable existence. Instead he heard a loud clang, the sound of metal on metal. 

He… he knew that sound, he knew it like his own voice, the singing of that steel, of that beautiful blade, but he couldn’t hope, he couldn’t hope just to have his heart broken all over again. 

“Get the fuck away from my brother.” That voice was hot and scathing, like thunder and lightning in his heart, like aloe to his soul, and he finally looked up, uncurling the tiniest bit, a shallow breath escaping his lips. 

“roman…” he breathed out, a smile cracking across his face, relief and hope blooming in his chest. Patton’s eyes narrowed behind their locked swords, Roman’s gilded hilt shining in the sun. 

“You really are resilient aren’t, you? Still defending that thing? After he hurt you, after he nearly killed you, after everything he’s done to ruin this kingdom, do you honestly think he deserves to live?” Roman snarled. 

“Of course he does! He didn’t mean to hurt anyone! Unlike you! You’re the monster here!” He pushed back, gritting his teeth as he forced Patton back a few steps, using both hands on the hilt, ignoring the blisters he could feel popping on his hand, the blood sticking to his sash, his head pounding. 

“He’s smart. He’s loved. He’s EVERYTHING to me! And I will never let you hurt him.” He kicked, surprising Patton, sending him staggering backwards. Then Patton fell over, a dazed look on his face. Roman blinked in confusion, before realizing Virgil was holding a large stick of wood, fury written all over his face.

“Virgil?” He asked shakily, breaking the man’s focus on the fallen Patton. He abruptly dropped this stick, rushed over to Roman, pulled him close, and crushed their lips together. 

Roman froze for a moment, surprised, before pressing forwards fervently, pressing his body close to Virgil’s, breathing in his scent, his air, his warmth. They pulled apart after a long moment, heads mere inches apart. How had he not seen this earlier, how had he not understood that this was what he’d been searching for, how could he ever have thought icy blue was more beautiful than this endless chocolate?

“Easy Princey.” Virgil murmured as he stumbled, supporting him as he gained his balance. Then Virgil let out a harsh gasp. Roman looked up, confused, seeing red on Virgil’s hands. Virgil was hurt, no, he had to do something. He stumbled forwards, trying to find where the wound was, but his balance seemed to tilt sideways.

His head felt heavy. He couldn’t seem to think straight, his thoughts swirling too fast to catch on too. He heard Virgil’s voice calling his name, saw the horrified look on his face, felt something cold dripping down his leg. 

Oh.

Oh.

He pressed a hand against his side, fascinated by the endless red that bubbled over his fingers, feeling his legs go wobbly as they gave out under him. 

Newly fallen rain. Cinnamon. Candied walnuts. Soft silk. He burrowed against it, resting his head against the crook of his elbow, shivering despite the warmth radiating off of him. 

“RoRo, Roman, baby bro, come on. I need you to stay awake. I need you to not fall asleep. Listen to my voice, ok? Roman nodded, a small whimper escaping him as the arms holding him shifted. 

“shh, shh, shh, we’re gonna fix this, ok? We’re gonna get you home and you’re gonna be ok.” He wanted to nod, wanted to tell Remus it was ok, that he wasn’t hurt, that it was Remus he was worried about.

He tried to. But he coughed on the air, felt wetness trickling from the corner of his mouth, tasted copper. He felt Remus’s breath hitch, squeeze him tighter, heard a soft sob. 

“nononono stay awake, stay awake bro, you’re ok, you’ll be ok.” He wanted to soothe Remus, but he was so tired, he was so heavy and cold and warm all at once. 

“love you… ree…” 

“No, don’t you dare, don’t you dare do this to me, Roman, don’t you dare!” Remus cried as Roman went slack in his arms. Logan knelt beside him on the ground, he’d been making sure Remus was alright while Virgil handled Roman, but now Roman… 

He let out a deep breath, steeling himself with determination. He ripped off his sash, tied it tight around the wound in Roman’s side, trying to staunch the bleeding. He had to stop the bleeding. 

He was hot, too hot, and Remus noticed Roman’s own sash was wrapped around his arm already, but he could see angry redness seeping out from underneath, and his stomach turned. Home. He needed to get him home. 

Without another word, he got to his feet, cradling Roman gently, letting the steel take over his heart, as he strode back towards the castle. 

He didn’t care how the citizens would receive him after all of this. He didn’t know if they’d all been turned against him or if they would attack him on sight. It didn’t matter. He would fight tooth and nail to get Roman inside, to get Roman help. He would not let anyone get in his way. They would help Roman, at least, he knew that much, even if they attacked him, killed him, they would help Roman. 

He didn’t notice Virgil and Logan sharing an awed look, before chasing after him, jogging to keep up. He didn’t notice that where he stepped, green grass grew through the sand. He didn’t notice that behind him, the kingdom was returning to its normal state, the trees that had withered blooming with leaves, the crops that had dried slowly standing tall once more, the sweep of green and growth that radiated out in every direction for every one of Remus’s steps. 

All he noticed was every shallow breath Roman took, every small shift of his body, the soft heartbeat against his chest. That was his entire world.

Agony. 

Clawing through his skull, tearing it to shreds

Vines climbing through his veins, constricting his lungs, squeezing his heart 

He couldn’t breathe

Light exploded against his eyelids

So bright 

Too warm

Pain

Pain

Painpainpainithurthurtithurtplease

Pleasepleaseplease make it stop stopstopstop 

“baby,baby,baby,baby, you’re ok, you’re ok now, you’re ok.” Words. Words were being spoken. He knew that voice, he felt relief hearing that voice, he needed that voice to be safe, he was safe.

“Oh baby boy, it’s ok, I love you, you’re safe, it’s ok.” Remus whispered, over and over and over. He was sitting on the bed, Roman in his lap, his head resting against Remus’s chest. He was rubbing circles against Roman’s back, resting his head atop his brother’s soft, loose curls, trying to contain the tears endlessly seeping from his eyes. 

He was hurting. Roman was hurting and it was his own fault. Roman had tried to come after him, and he had pushed him away, he had panicked and set this curse on Roman, he was the reason his brother was on death’s door. 

He was the reason there was fire in Roman’s veins, the reason why a fever steadily rose, the reason why his breath hitched and stuttered, the reason why he was burning up under his hands. 

And then there was his arm. He choked back a sob at that thought, just looking at the carefully loosely wrapped appendage had him breaking into pieces. His sash had been stuck to it, pulling it off did as much harm as good, blisters oozing and flesh charred, everything a burned, bloody mess. Cleaning it had been the hardest part, Roman had cried out and thrashed, the water was soothing, but they had to rub against the wound, had to get all the sand out. By the time they were done, Roman was curled into a tight ball, too exhausted to even make noise anymore, face scrunched up in pain, white as a sheet, quietly pleading in his sleep for it to stop. 

That was really his worst injury. The stab wound had caused a lot of blood loss, and weakened him even more against his fever, upping the chances his immune system would fail and his burns would get infected or refuse to heal, and then he’d lose the arm. 

But the wound itself was easy. The bleeding had almost stopped by the time they got back. Nothing important had been hit, they simply sewed it up and bandaged it. 

And now… now it was a matter of patience. Which had never really been his strong suit. Whenever Roman said that to him, he’d reply that his only strong suit was his birthday suit. Roman would groan and roll his eyes, but he was always hiding a smile, that dimple always gave him away. 

Despite his best efforts, the tears burst free into wild, shaking, keening sobs. He couldn’t lose him, he couldn’t lose his baby brother, he wouldn’t, he wouldn’t! 

“I won’t let you go, you hear me? You are not leaving me, you are not allowed to leave me. I’ll kill you if you die on me now. After everything, after you were so brave and strong and… and saved me, saved my life, never gave up on me, I am not giving up on you. I will never give up on you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Roman’s head, taking in his smell of fresh cut flowers, of sun warmed earth, of chocolate chip cookies. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” He murmured fervently, desperately, clinging onto Roman with all the strength his exhausted body had left, as despite himself, he drifted off into a light sleep.

“no… no… Re…Remus…REE!” He screamed, he was shaking, he couldn’t stop shaking, where was he, where was he, he needed to find him! He tried to move, but his body felt like it was weighted down, it was a fight just to open his eyes, and once he did the light burned into his skull, every inch of him was burning with fire, and he let out another desperate scream, trying to struggle free of these restraints, ice blue eyes and cruel cold hands-

“Roman!” His voice cut through his hazy panic, and he froze, blinking rapidly, vision finally clearing. He was in bed. In… in his room? And there was a low voice murmuring in his ear, there arms around him, rocking him gently, there was warmth that didn’t burn at his skin, tear his insides apart. He let out a choked sob and threw himself backwards into that warmth, clinging to it tightly, ignoring the agony that shot through his arm, pulsed up to his shoulder, the throbbing in his side that made his vision white out, it didn’t matter. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you were right, Ree, you were right about him and I didn’t listen and he was going to-“ he cut off, a wave of pain washing over him, sending him gasping for air. 

“No. I’m sorry. I should have told you, I should have talked to you, I shouldn’t have pushed you out when all you wanted was to be there for me, to help. You were so brave, Ro, you saved me. You… roman, your arm…” He felt Roman shrug. 

“I needed to get out. I c-couldn’t get the door open. I remembered the brick. Simple math.” Roman mumbled, already succumbing to the exhaustion dragging him down. 

“Only to you, Roman. Now go back to sleep.” He felt Remus stroking his hair, and snuggled tighter against his warmth, letting out a happy little sigh as his eyes slipped shut. And Remus breathed out for what felt like the first time in two days, because the fever had broken.


End file.
